On April 5th, the NPSS Mock Trial team attended the OJEN mock trial semifinals at the Brampton Courthouse. The team competed with four of the finest teams in Peel Region for the podium.
Unfortunately, there was no time for the North Park delegates to rest. Right as the clock struck 8:30 AM, they were ushered into a wide courtroom by the law clerks, where they would be going head-to-head with Our Lady of Mount Carmel Secondary School. North Park would be representing the defence.
After they had received their lawyer’s robes, it was time to unravel the R. v. Lavel case once again. The Crown started with their opening statement, which was then followed by a direct examination of Max Luo and Harshith Gosh by the Crown, and a cross-examination by Jeevan Kaur Dhindsa and Bhavini Aggrwal. In no time, it was time for the defence to present their case. They would be using self-defence as a way to protect their client, Charlie Lavel. Kashika Loomba started with a fabulous opening statement, followed by Kawaljeet Kaur’s direct examination, of the psychiatrist (played by Mayank Dua), and the direct examination of Charlie Lavel (played by Arav Kumar), done by Ryan Sirisena. Once again, Charlie Lavel was the star of the show. However, the cross-examination was ferocious. Do you know how many times the Crown Counsell asked why Charlie Lavel opened the door to his attackers? Fifteen TIMES! Fifteen times Lavel was questioned about why he had opened the door to invaders; fifteen times the defence felt like objecting but couldn’t; fifteen times the defence felt like puking and ripping their hair out; fifteen times the witness, Charlie, had to rebut. Fortunately, as the 15 door questions came to an end, the team could move on to the closing statement, which was made by Kawaljeet Kaur.
“Playing the defendant was a new experience for me since this year was my first time playing a witness. It is a common misconception that witnesses have to memorize a lot of information since they can’t have their notes while testifying in front of the court. I believe that the story aspect of the eventful cases that are given, allows the witness to easily remember all key information” stated Mr. Kumar.
After a few pictures and handshakes with the judges, it was time to find out who would be heading to the finals. Could it be North Park? No, it was Chinguacousy S.S. and Our Lady of Mount Carmel Secondary School. Even so, the trial between Chinguacousy and Our Lady Mount Carmel was one to see. Objections were being thrown around, the door lawyer would not stop negotiating about the doors, and the witness was spilling her guts onto the floor. Anyway, the trial ended and it was time to see who made the top three!
Chinguacousy Secondary School came in first place, Our Lady Mount Carmel came in second, North Park came in third, and lastly, Harold M. Brathwaite came fourth (Unfortunately, their two-year streak of winning came to an end that day). In addition to our great victory, Mayank Dua, who played the psychiatrist, won best witness! The judge found his act to be quite credible. Perhaps this was a signal to pursue his real interest, acting.
“The other side did an amazing job, they were probably our toughest competition. Even though our team placed third in the Peel, I believe we did very well and I’m proud we got far,” Ms. Loomba expressed.
With that, the mock trial season came to an end. Please congratulate Mrs. Johnson and the North Park Mock Trial team for their third-place finish in Peel. That’s a wrap!
THE NORTH STAR 